William Bushnell Stout was a designer of airplanes, airplane engines, high speed rail cars and automobiles. He designed the "Stout Tri-Motor" airliner but on selling the rights to Henry Ford it became known as the Ford Tri-Motor.
Though only 199 were built, Ford's tough Tri-Motor remains one of the most significant transport aircraft in US commercial aviation history. It started the era of reliable air transport by being the first of its kind to incorporate all-metal construction with the relative safety provided by three engines.
Some of these planes are still in use today, including one that flies tourists around the Grand Canyon and another restored by American Airlines and flown around the country for promotional purposes.